Process And Apparatus For The Printing Of Panel-Shaped Workpieces

Abstract

The invention discloses a process for printing of panel-shaped workpieces, in particular in the region of an edge, in which a section of a panel-shaped workpiece to be printed is subjected first of all to one or a plurality of pre-treatment stages which are selected from a) pre-cleaning, b) degreasing, c) improvement of the adhesion and wetting properties and d) reduction of the electrostatic charge, and in which the pre-treated section to be printed is subsequently printed with a desired pattern, in particular by means of inkjet printing. The invention also provides an apparatus for performing said process.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention relates to a process and an apparatus for the printing of panel-shaped workpieces in which a section of the panel-shaped workpiece is printed with a desired pattern, in particular by means of inkjet printing.PRIOR ART[0002]After being cut to length and having passed through the sizing or shaping process, panel-shaped workpieces, which are used, for example, as construction elements for furniture, are often provided on a narrow side with suitable materials such as edges, webs or foils made from technical polymers (ABS, PP, PVC) or wood veneer strips. This measure serves, for example, to achieve a deliberate appearance or haptic or to act as protection against mechanical stress or to prevent ingress of moisture.[0003]The panel-shaped workpieces considered here may be chipboard panels, plywood panels, fiberboard panels and other wooden material boards or, for example, gypsum plasterboard and gypsum fiber board or, for example, laminated...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0008]Against this background, it is provided in the process according to the invention that a section of a panel-shaped workpiece to be printed is subjected first of all to one or more pre-treatment stages which are selected from a) pre-cleaning, b) degreasing, c) improvement of the adhesion and wetting properties and d) reduction of the electrostatic charge. It is possible in this manner, using the process according to the invention, to create printed images with outstanding quality on the panel-shaped workpieces, said images having excellent adhesion on the printed section and thus having very good durability.

[0012]An apparatus according to the invention for performing the process according to the invention is the subject-matter of independent claim 9. This apparatus is characterized in that it has one or more pre-treatment modules which are selected from a pre-cleaning module, a degreasing module, a module for improving the adhesion and wetting properties and a module for reducing the electrostatic charge. As a result of this it is possible to achieve, as in the process according to the invention, a printed image on the panel-shaped workpiece which has excellent quality and a high level of durability.

[0013]According to a development of the apparatus according to the invention, it is provided that the pre-treatment modules may be operated selectively depending on the material and / or the surface condition of the section to be printed. This renders it possible to match operation of the apparatus according to the invention selectively to the material and / or the surface condition of the section to be printed so that the outcome is an optimum pre-cleaning result for each panel-shaped workpiece and thus also an optimum printed image.

[0014]According to a development of the invention, the pre-treatment modules and preferably also the printing device and / or the handling device are provided in conjunction with a control device. This renders it possible for the apparatus according to the invention to be fully automated and thus to work quickly and efficiently without having to make sacrifices in terms of the quality or durability of the printed image obtained.

[0015]The apparatus according to the invention may, for example, be what is known as a stationary machine (a processing center for example) or what is known as a through-feed machine. In the former case, the workpieces to be printed are stationary and the handling device moves the relevant pre-treatment modules or the printing device in relation to the workpieces to be printed. In the latter case, the pre-treatment modules and the printing device are stationary and the workpieces to be printed are moved past these pre-treatment modules or the printing device by means of the handling device. Within the scope of the present invention, however, combinations of both concepts are also possible, for example pre-treatment modules working in through-feed operation and a printing device working as a stationary machine. Particularly fast and efficient operation of the apparatus may, however, be achieved if the handling device is a through-feed handling device according to a development of the present invention, which transports the panel-shaped workpieces to be printed past or through the pre-treatment modules and / or the printing device.

[0016]Furthermore, the apparatus according to the invention may be constructed of a plurality of different or separate machine units, for example by providing a separate machine unit in each case for each pre-treatment module and for the printing device, whereby these units may also be spatially separate. According to a development of the present invention, however, it is preferable for a plurality, preferably all, of the pre-treatment modules to be provided in one machine layout since this simplifies operation of the apparatus according to the invention and improves the pre-cleaning result. Moreover, it is particularly preferable that the printing device and / or the handling device, if necessary, are also provided in this machine layout.

Problems solved by technology

However, it appears that the known printing process and the known printing apparatus lead to a limited quality and durability of the printed image applied.

Images